You may be surprised by the research on whiplash injuries. Unfortunately, whiplash injuries are common in winter months because of rear end collisions. There are several misconceptions that have been dispelled by research. What you don’t know may lead to greater harm to you if you are rear ended by another vehicle. Research shows that low impact collisions are more dangerous to passengers as most people think. At 8 mph the head and neck are exposed to forces 2.5 times those of the vehicle itself. In a 1992 research by Macnab in The Spine, states that “in a 15 mph collision the head would accelerate with a force of 10 G’s in less than 1/2 second.” To put this in perspective, a fighter pilot begins to “gray out” at 6G and one cannot raise their body against 8G. At 5G there is a 50/50 chance of sustaining a concussion. TAKEAWAY: Low speed accidents can create real bodily harm that left uncorrected may lead to big problems in the future. Research also shows that damage to your car is often much less severe than the damage to your body. TAKEAWAY: Just because your car is ok, doesn’t mean you are. Being...

The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and vegetables that you MUST buy organic. Most non-organic vegetables are saturated in pesticides. Large non-organic farms use pesticides to protect crops but these pesticides harm humans (you and me). Some fruits and vegetables are more absorbent of pesticides and are more covered in pesticides than others. The produce that should always be purchased and consumed “organic” are on a list called “The Dirty Dozen”. Strawberries Spinach Nectarines Apples Peaches Pears Cherries Grapes Celery Tomatoes Sweet Bell Peppers Potatoes If you are only able to buy some foods from the organic section, make sure that they are those on this...

Dr. Lou’s Weight Loss Challenge Has Died From Complications Of Obesity. A personal message from Dr. Lou. That’s Right, but there’s great news. The three month challenge that has led to hundreds of people losing thousands of pounds is taking a break this year. Over the years we’ve given away thousands of dollars and helped dozens of people take off tremendous weight and keep it off. As otherwise motivated participants became less engaged in the process (Free Classes, Workshops, etc) and subsequently were less successful in the program, I started strategizing better, more effective ways of helping people get in shape. I wanted to continue to use the valuable information and tools we’ve used in the challenge. This has led me back to the most successful plan of action I know. For over 15 years I have been privately coaching people to better fitness and weight loss. One on One attention appears to be what works best for my clients and it allows them to comfortably work through weight loss without the involvement of distracting group meetings and generalized plans. Our program was overweight with options and I’ve decided to slim things down. I will be reinvesting my time...

We often lack compassion when it comes to ourselves. 3 solutions to a happier, more compassionate life with oneself. We’re too fat, too ugly, too poor, too disconnected, too lazy, too unlucky. You’ve seen the meme, “Everyone you meet is going through something you know nothing about. Be kind.” How do you apply that compassion to yourself? How do you become #1 in your life? One of the easiest ways to develop a mindset of compassion for oneself is to stop considering the thoughts of others. What? That sounds awfully self centered and socially irresponsible, Dr. Lou! We care too much about what others think. Ask yourself this question: If you lived in the forest or an abandoned city with nobody to judge you, your clothes, your actions or your beliefs, would you be as hard on yourself? Are your biggest issues with yourself based on the thoughts of those around you? If you had nobody to compare yourself to physically or mentally, would you care how you look or what you know? Of course not. So why do the views and thoughts of people you don’t know matter right now? If you don’t know or interact with them isn’t that similar...

Be Thankful For Your Abundance America. For the past 3 weeks I have been working and living in a country of over 20 million people, that but for myself and another part time chiropractor, chiropractors don’t exist. They don’t exist here for many reasons. The first being that there is an abundance of untrained people calling themselves chiropractors with no laws to protect the people from their false advertising. Or to protect trained chiropractors from the imposters. With untrained people performing non-specific joint manipulations in the absence of highly specific adjustments designed to improve nerve communication and reduce subluxation, the risk for injury and damage is high. There is a growing, but not fully developed, non-pharmaceutical healthcare system here. Alternative- non medicated- medicine. Eastern Europe feels very safe, inexpensive and beautiful, but still, it fails to draw chiropractors from abroad. There are no chiropractic programs of study in Eastern Europe. We in the U.S. often take for granted how easy we have it, and how much accessibility we have to great things and services. In my family’s experience while here, the doctors are great, the technology within private doctor and dental offices is superior to the average office in Maine, and people...

Dr. Lou’s Kitchen. With the majority of restaurants supplying your meals from SYSCO, Sam’s club or BJ’s, I had an idea. Rather than cutting corners for profit in an industry that is as cut throat as any, why not start cooking more at home. Since I already cook a lot at home, why not help others do the same? Food that tastes good but is made from poor ingredients, misses half the boat when you eat out. At home, it’s easier to do it all the right way. I grew up around parents who cooked, a grandfather who owned a café, and a number of others who were solid participants in the kitchen. I went on to study cooking in Beijing, China and surround myself with people who prioritized food. So much of your health is related to the food you eat. With over 50% of Maine people overweight or obese, and numbers growing locally and nationwide, if you don’t watch what you eat you are going to be more likely to run into problems. Problems ruin quality of life. I remind my patients all the time, as far as we know, we have only one life. We should...

Our patients tell the story. It’s difficult to know where to go when looking for a Maine chiropractor online. There is no chiropractor directory. You have recommendations from friends or a chiropractor search on google, that’s it. Like with many services, we’re left looking at reviews and trying to get to know a product or service through videos on youtube. If you have cluster headaches, a frozen shoulder, a herniated disc, sciatica, lower back pain, migraine, neck pain or the like, you need help soon and you want the best chiropractor in Maine. Let us help you find the family chiropractic clinic that is best for you. The following video was produced on August 18, 2017. We all know that healthcare of any kind is a very personal thing. You need to find someone you trust, someone who is available for you, a doctor who is well educated and who cares about people. Based on surveys done at our office, these qualities and feelings are harder to find than one might think. The majority of our patients have been dissatisfied with their previous caregiver and state that this is the reason for them finding someone new. “Doctors don’t listen” or...

Avoid disaster by removing access to these top choking hazards for babies. The last thing any parent wants to be faced with is a child who’s life is being threatened. Choking is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for infants. Every responsible parent should lower the risk of injury or death by removing hazardous items and feeding their children lower risk foods. Being prepared to help a choking infant by following the instructions as written by the National Safety Council: Support the infant face down by holding the head in one hand with the torso on your forearm against your thigh Give up to five back slaps between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand If the object is not expelled, roll the infant face up, supporting the back of the infant’s head with your hand Place two fingers on the breastbone just below the nipple line Give five chest thrusts about one per second about 1 ½ inches deep Continue cycles of five back slaps and five chest thrusts until the object is expelled or the infant becomes unresponsive If the infant becomes unresponsive or is found unresponsive, begin CPR The items...

How does Dr. Lou eat? Here’s an inside look at what happens in his kitchen. Dr. Lou likes the principle spoken of by author Michael Pollan. “If you don’t make it, don’t eat it.” If you aren’t willing to churn the ice cream or bake the pie, you don’t get to eat them. Eating well is critical to your overall health. Dr. Lou wants to help you by showing you how easy it is to “do good” by your family and provide them with exciting, healthy meals. “Dr. Lou’s Kitchen” is a new playlist on Dr. Lou’s youtube channel (Mainechiropractor). High quality, easy to understand cooking lessons will be posted regularly for your enjoyment. This is exactly how Dr. Lou eats. Chiropractic is about optimizing nervous system control and healing and diet affects these in a positive or negative way, depending on what you eat. Maine is over 60% overweight or obese. Obesity in Maine kills more Mainers than anything else. Eating well is a life saver, eating poorly will kill you. Dr. Lou is not only a Maine chiropractor, he is also a pretty good cook. He’s taught cooking classes for years here in Maine and in Kansas City. The...

The difference between like and love will make you or break you. If you like something, you may go out of the way to get it. I’ll certainly drive to town, 15 minutes one way, to get Graeter’s Ice Cream from Whole Foods, even though there are other ice cream brands within 3 minutes of my house. I like the feeling of eating a good meal, so from time to time I’ll drop a good chunk of change on a dinner for three. I like it. It’s good. I love my family. I will work endless hours, walk through fire and eat snake guts for them. Nothing will stop me from being there if they need me. Nothing will stop me from trying to give them a good life. This includes the necessity of me being alive and thriving in order to help and provide for them. How do you view your health and ability to function? Do you like it or do you love it? Will it drive you to take action? It’s not really as much about health as it is your ability to have fun and love the ones you love, right? What are you willing to do to...